1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cancer marker and a therapeutic agent for cancer.
2. Related Background Art
Prostate cancer is the cancer which has the highest prevalence among males in Europe and the U.S. Also in Japan, the number of patients with prostate cancer is increasing year by year along with westernization of dietary habits and aging of the population. Prostate cancer includes an androgen-dependent tumor and an androgen-independent tumor. Generally, proliferation of prostate cancer cells is stimulated by androgen; therefore, in treatment of unresectable progressive prostate cancer, androgen blockade therapy, which inhibits production and function of androgen, is frequently implemented. Early-stage prostate cancer often responds to androgen blockade therapy because most of it is androgen dependent. However, once it has progressed to an androgen-independent tumor, androgen blockade therapy cannot be implemented, and even more, no good treatment method exists. In view of the foregoing, effective treatment for androgen-independent tumor is needed.
A BMCC1 gene is a novel gene discovered as a result of a research project “a comprehensive gene expression analysis in tumor tissue using a cDNA microarray derived from a tumor of neuroblastoma and identification of a cancer suppressor gene, an oncogene, and a prognosis-determining factor using the same” in Chiba Cancer Center, by which a strong correlation between BMCC1 gene expression and prognosis of neuroblastoma was reported (Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1). However, involvement of the BMCC1 gene in prostate cancer is not known.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-061672    Non-Patent Document 1: Machida, T. et al., (2006), Oncogene, Vol. 25, p 1931-1942
If molecular mechanisms of a gene involved in cancer are elucidated and a therapeutic medicine based on a novel mechanism can be developed, a range of options for cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment can be expanded. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel cancer marker. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel therapeutic agent for cancer.